The Karate competition of the European Universities Championships in Combat Sports started Friday with a thrilling opening day. Karatekas from Ukraine and Turkiye took the spotlight in the individual categories.
The final of Male Kata will have Kutluhan Duran of Turkiye and Vladimir Mijac of Montenegro clashing for gold. The Turkish karateka prevailed in the last pool with a score of 25.7 while Mijac topped his pool with a score of 24.9.
The second final for Turkiye came in Male Kumite +84kg. Fatih Sen qualified for the title-deciding bout after beating Fabio Mazzoleni of Italy 6-2. His rival in the final is Karlo Raguz of Croatia who edged Jachym Tinavsky of the Czech Republic in the semi-finals 2-1.
Turkiye’s success continued in Male Kumite -60kg as Burak Ozdemir reached the final of the category. Ozdemir who is the 2022 U21 European champion upset Dominik Imrich of Slovakia in the semifinals 2-1. The other spot in the final was taken by Yurii Mossichuk of Ukraine. The Ukrainian representative prevented an All-Turkiye final as he defeated Mehmet Esenboga in the semi-finals 4-0.
The outstanding performance of the representatives of Turkiye was extended to Female Kumite divisions. Dicle Beyazit qualified for the final of Female Kumite -50kg after beating Ukraine’s Yuliia Palashevksa 3-1. The other spot in the final is taken by Ema Sgardelli of Croatia who edged Hungary’s Kiara Kovacs by “Hantei” or decision 0-0.
Ukrainian competitors had plenty of reasons to celebrate today. The final of Male Kumite -67kg will have two competitors of the powerhouse nation going for gold. Valentin Naida edged teammate Oleksandr Kicherman 1-0 while Vladyslav Shveda beat David Petkov of North Macedonia 6-4.
The third final spot for Ukraine was claimed by Kostiantyn Yanenko in Male Kumite -75kg. The Ukrainian karateka defeated Dimitar Ilievsky of North Macedonia 8-3 and will fight for gold against another representative of the Balkan country, Petar Zaborski who beat Oleh Ovras of Ukraine 2-1.
Ukraine’s prevalence continued in Female Kumite -55kg. Liliia Yushyna reached the final following a 4-1 triumph over teammate Veronika Borosan. The second finalist in the category is Syria Mancinelli of Italy who defeated Gulsah Uyumaz of Turkiye.
In Female Kumite -61kg, Natalia Osadchuk claimed the fifth final for Ukraine after taking a convincing 7-2 victory over Turkiye’s Aysima Karayaka. Her rival is Reem Khamis of Germany who is the current continental champion of the category and who took a slim 1-0 triumph over Lejla Topalovic of Austria.
Meanwhile, in Female Kata Natacha Fernandes of Portugal will fight for the crown against Vanda Toth of Hungary. Fernandes got a score of 24.8 in the final pool by 23.4 of the Hungarian representative.
In Male Kumite -84kg, the crown will go to either Julian Enrik Smoliga of Slovakia or Nikola Malovic of Montenegro. Smoliga edged Botond Botos of Hungary by “Hantei” or decision 0-0 while Malovic claimed a convincing 6-1 victory over Petar Spasenovski of North Macedonia.
Montenegro celebrated one more final as Vasilisa Bujic made it to the final of Female Kumite -68kg (2-0 over Slovakia’s Sara Krivdova). The other finalist in the category is Melinda Marmot of France who upset Croatia’s Lea Vukoja 1-0.
The list of countries fighting for gold was increased in Female Kumite +68kg as Theodosia Giamouki of Cyprus will clash for the title against Stefani Kresis of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Giamouki qualified after upsetting Finland’s Sonja Voutilainen 1-1 and Kresis took a slim 1-0 triumph over Kseniia Kolomiitseva of Ukraine.
The competition continues Saturday with the team divisions. The EUSA Combat 2023 is available live on YouTube.
CLICK HERE to go to the live-streaming of the Karate competition.
Results and schedule of the Karate competition are available CLICKING HERE.
(PHOTOS: EUSA Combat 2023)